Air scenting device



April 17, 1934. J BURNS 1,955,171

AIR SCENTING DEVICE Filed March 20, 1933 IN VENTOR.

BY JUEEPH BURNS a ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 17, 1934 AIR, SCENTING DEVICE Joseph Burns, Des Moines, Iowa Application March 20, 1933, Serial No. 661,811

6 Claims.

. The principal object of my invention isto provide an apparatus for successfully and. uniformly scenting or perfuming the air ofa room or compartment occupied by human beings.

A further object of my invention is to provide an air. scenting device that is under the. control of the user at all times.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a device for scenting an area with a pleasing aroma that is free from fire hazards.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a method of scenting a room or like that does not give .a. close or stifling effect.

A stillfurther object of this invention is to provide an air scenting device that is economical in manufacture and durable in use.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an air scenting. device that is attached to and operated by. an. ordinary electrician.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the. various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side view of my complete device attached to an ordinary fan.

'Fig. 2 is an enlarged side sectional view of the container portion of the device.

.Fig. 3is a front view of a portion of the device secured to the motorof an electric fan with parts of the electric fan-cut away. a

Fig. 4 is an inside view of the cap portion of the container element.

1 Fig. 5 is a side, sectional view of a portion of the top of the container cap.

Fig. 6 is a side sectional view of substantially the entire container cap. 1

Fig. 7 is a side sectional view of the forward end of the air inlet pipe.

Most people enjoy fragrantly odored rooms. The most common method of scentinga room is by burning incense. However, incense gives a very heavy odor and due to the smoke, makes the atmosphere seem everything but refreshing. Furthermore, the burning of incense is mussy and a potential accidental fire starter. 1 have overcome such objections as will hereinafter be appreciated.

Referring to the drawing, I have used the numeral 10 to generally designate an ordinary elec tric fan. Such electric fans have a motor 11, a

' fan 12, and fan guard 13, as shown in Fig. 1. It

is to such an electric fan that I recommend the attaching of my device. The numeral14 designates the container element of my device. This container may be of any suitable size or shape and in the drawing I show it of elongated cylindrical cup construction capable of having its upper open top portion threaded into the closing cap 15, as shown in Fig. 2. This cap 15 may be rigidly secured in any suitable manner to the electric fan. In the drawing, I show this cap secured to the fan motor 11 by screws 16 extending through ears 17 on the cap 15 and threaded into the electric motor housing. In most electric fans there are such screws 16 available and are usually found threaded into the housing of the 0. fan motor 11 at each side of the fan shaft 18. For this reason any one can easily and quickly install my device on an ordinary electric fan and when the cap 15' is once secured to the fan motor there will be no reason for its later. re- 76,. moval. The perfume which may be in crystal, liquid, or other form which is to be used to scent the air is placed in the container 14. If a liquid perfume is used it is recommended that layers of absorbent materiallQ be placed in the container 14, as shownin Fig. 2. These layers of absorbent material 19 act as a wick to any liquid that might be in the container and by capillary action assure particles of the liquid to be all times near the upper portion of the container 14. Furthermore, the porous absorbent material permits air entering the containert o more effectively contact the liquid perfume and absorb the same. Care should, however, be taken that an air compartment exists in the extreme upper portion of the container 14.

After the container has been properly filled with the perfume to be used it is threaded into and made a part of the cap 15. When all of the perfume has been used out of the container 14 it is merely necessary to unscrew the container from its cap portion 15 and re-fill it. As the cap portion15 is secured to the forward portion or housing of the motor 11 its position will be just back of the fan 12. The numeral 20 designates the air inlet pipe. This pipe 20 has its forward end terminating in front of the fan 12 and its rear end discharging through the cap 15 and into the inside of the container 14. The numeral 21 designates a small funnel on the forward end of the 10; pipe 20. This small funnel is directly in the path of air being cast forwardly by the fan 12 when in motion and is designed to catch, direct, and guide a current of air into and through the pipe 20 and into the upper portion of the container 11p 14. The numeral 22 designates an outlet pipe having one end extending through the top of the cap 15 to communicate with the inside of the container 14 and its other end terminating just back of the fan 12. As there is a partial vacuum in the rear of the fan 12 when it is rotating the tendency will be to pull air out of the inside of the container 14 through the pipe 22. In other words, a portion of the air thrown forwardly by the fan 12 will enter the funnel 21, pass through the pipe 20 into the inside of the container 14, where it will be properly scented by the contents inside the container. With the air pressure inside the container 14 greater than normal atmospheric pressures and with a partial vacuum existing in the rear of the fan 12, this scented air will pass out of the container 14 through the pipe 22 and will be cast and distributed with other air by the fan throughout the room-in which the electric fan resides.

From this, it will be seen that the air inside a room will not only be delicately scented without 2 danger of fire, but will be a refreshing air due to its circulation in the room by the fan.

Naturally there will be times when it will not be desirable to scent the air in a room. There will also be times when it will be desirable to control the-intensity of the scent in the room. To accomplish this I have provided valves for adjustably restricting the flow of air through the pipes 20, and 22 and which I will now describe. On the under side of the cap 15 I have provided a slidably mounted plate 23 capable of being manually slid to adjustably close or restrict the open ends of the pipes 20 and 22 terminating inside the container 14. This plate 23 is slidably secured to the cap 15 by having two headed rivets 24 extending through two slots 25 respectively in the top of the cap 15, as shown in Fig. 5. A handle member 26 to facilitate the manual movement of the-plate 23 is secured to the plate 23 and extends through and above the top of the cap- 15 byvirtue of the slot 27. By this arrangement whenthe handle member 26 is pushed to the limit of, its sliding movement toward the pipes 20 and 22 the pipes 20 and 22 will be completely closed andthere will be no scent entering the room. To permit the device to function, the handle 26 is moved away from the pipes 20 and 22. Naturallythe amount of air flowing into and out of the container 14 will be in direct ratio to the degree the pipes 20 and 22 are open for the passage of air through them. Other types of valves for adjustably restricting the passage of air through the pipes 20 and 22 may be employed.

in the container 14, such as disinfectants and like.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my improved air scenting device without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. In combination with an electric fan, a container designed to contain a scenting medium, an air inlet pipe having one end terminating in front of the fan portion of the electric fan and its other end terminating inside the container, and a passageway in said container communicating with the outside atmosphere at a point in the rear of the fan portion of said electric fan.

2. In a device of the class described, an air fan, a container designed to contain liquid, an air inlet pipe having one end terminating in front of said fan and its other end communicating with the inside of said container, and a second pipe having one end communicating with the inside of said container and its other end terminating at the rear of said fan.

3. In a device of the class described, an air fan, a container designed to contain matter having an odor, an air inlet pipe having one end terminating in front of said fan and its other end communicating with the inside of said container, a funnel portion formed on the forward end of said air inlet pipe, and a second pipe having one end communicating with the inside of said container and its other end terminating at the rear of said fan.

4. In a device of the class described, an air fan, a container designed to contain a liquid having an odor, absorbent material inside said container, an air inlet pipe having one end terminating in front of said fan and its other end communicating with the inside of said container, and a second pipe communicating with the inside of said container and terminating at the rear of said fan.

.5. In a device of the class described, an air fan, a container designed to contain a liquid having an odor, absorbent material inside said con tainer, an air inlet pipe having one end terminating in front of said fan and its other end communicating with the inside top of said container, and a second. pipe communicating with the inside top of said container and terminating at the rear of said fan.

6. In combination with an air fan, a container designed to hold a perfume, an air inlet pipe having its forward end terminating in front of said fan and its other end communicating with the inside of said container, a second pipe communicating with the inside of said container and its other end terminating at the rear of said fan, and a means for adjustably restricting the flow of air through said first and second pipes.

JOSEPH BURNS. 

